Re: Pictorialism Exhibition Opportunity

Sandy,

Thank you for your question. The New Pictorialist Society was founded in
1967 and is incorporated as a Non-Profit Corporation. The organization
exists to promote the understanding, appreciation and practice of Pictorial
Photography. The roots of Pictorialism extend back to the 19th century.
Indeed, Fox Talbot pursued the invention of photography as a means of his
own pictorial expression. As the processes improved and Kodakers abounded,
photo-artists banded together to encourage each other's photographic
expression and to set themselves apart from the snap-shooters. Alfred
Stieglitz, Clarence White, the Linked Ring, etc., were motive forces in the
late 19th and early 20th century working to establish Photography as among
the fine arts.

Modernism, abstractionism and the pursuit of scientific perfection, among
other forces in the 1930's, gave rise to the misguided term "straight
photography" and those photographers of the F-64 ilk were vociferous in
denouncing Pictorialism as not a legitimate style of photography. It is
unfortunate that pictorialism was so undermined but, fortunately, there are
still photographers today who continue to work in the Pictorialist style.
The New Pictorialist Society is a resource to encourage their work. The
organization was quite active throughout the 1970's and 1980's but the costs
of publishing newsletters and serving a world-wide community could not be
sustained and the organization reduced its formal activities in the early
1990's. Now, with the Internet and desk-top publishing, The New
Pictorialist Society is being re-energized.

It was interesting to read people's comments about the high cost of paying
to be in a Gallery show. The NPS sponsored Gallery Exhibit is a good
example of how NPS as a non-profit corporation can serve the community. We
have selected a venue that has been made available as a promotion for the
gallery. The only cost to exhibit, if selected, is 20 bucks paid to NPS,
not the gallery. The NPS will promote the exhibit and encourage sales and
will only take 20% of actual proceeds to process the transaction. The catch
is that this is a Pictorialism Exhibition. Although pictorialists used gum
bichromate, platinum, bromoil, carbon and many other "control" techniques to
achieve the Pictorialist image, not all gum bichromate, platinum, bromoil,
carbon or other control process is automatically a pictorial image. Some
folks like merlot and some folks like white zinfandel. We are
Pictorialists.

We believe one important feature of a Pictorial image is the personal
involvement by the Photo-Artist in creating the final image. Often this
goes well beyond dodge-and-burn tactics of a silver-gelatin print and makes
the resulting image truly one-of-a-kind that would not be easy to duplicate,
much less mass produce. Isn't this a key ingredient in a work of Art.

A photograph may be a picture but is it Pictorial? We hope many of you
consider exploring your portfolio, perhaps you'll find a Pictorial image or
two that are candidates for this exhibit.

Best regards,

Jim Flack

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandy King" <sanking@clemson.edu>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Cc: <jfflack@pacbell.net>
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: Pictorialism Exhibition Opportunity

>
> Could you please elaborate on The New Pictorialism Society? Is this a
> resurrection of a society by the same name that existed in the 70s
> and 80s and, as best I understand, became inactive or defunct in the
> early 90s?
>
> Sandy King
>
>
>
>
>
> >Many Alt-Photo workers are familiar with Photo Pictorialism and some work
in
> >the Pictorialist style today.
> >
> >The New Pictorialist Society is sponsoring a gallery exhibit of
contemporary
> >photo-pictorialism entitled, "EXPRESSIVE IMAGES - INTIMATE PHOTOGRAPHY".
> >This juried exhibition will celebrate the vision and skill of
contemporary
> >photo-pictorialists who are working in the timeless style which
established
> >photography among the fine arts of visual expression.
> >
> >The title of this exhibit conveys that these images reflect a personal
> >expression by the artist in the style of Pictorialism and are produced
> >through his/her intimate involvement with the photographic image-making
> >process. Thus, the classic techniques, such as Bromoil, Gum Bichromate,
> >Platinum/Palladium, Carbon, etc., are especially appreciated.
> >
> >The Gallery chosen for the exhibition is very well known to the community
of
> >serious photography enthusiasts in Northern California. The exhibit will
be
> >presented from April 15 to May 30, 2004. So, the application deadline is
> >March 17. If you are interested in receiving application information,
> >please email your request to: pictorialist@pacbell.net
>
Received on Fri Feb 6 13:12:31 2004